


A Cat in Winter

by Quidditchdilla



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Genre: Bombalurina - Freeform, Demeter - freeform, George - Freeform, Jellylorum - Freeform, Jemima - Freeform, Jennyanydots - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of possible freezing, Other cats do make small appearances or are mentioned, Pouncival - Freeform, The Rum Tum Tugger - Freeform, Tumblebrutus - Freeform, mentions of yelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27790045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quidditchdilla/pseuds/Quidditchdilla
Summary: Alonzo has a plan to ask Munkustrap to be his mate, but Munkustrap thinks they need to talk about their relationship.  Meanwhile, a blizzard is about to hit the junkyard.  This turns out to be quite a fortunate turn of events.
Relationships: Alonzo/Munkustrap (Cats)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In this story, the cats do not behave like actual cats. I know very little about actual cat behavior or social structure. The cats in this story form bonded pairs and mate for life, or at least for extended periods of time. 
> 
> Also, as far as I'm aware a group of cats is called a clowder, not a tribe. I will continue to refer to the group of cats as a tribe, but I also made up a word 'unclowdered' to refer to cats who are not part of a tribe. Does that make sense? No. Do I care? Yes, quite a lot, but I'm doing it this way anyway.

Alonzo was content to laze around for a little while longer before getting up and starting his day. It was chilly out today. He couldn't see outside, but he imagined it was either snowing already or was at least threatening to start, but he felt warm and comfortable curled up next to Munkustrap. 

It had been a few weeks since Alonzo started spending his nights in Munkustrap's den, but he was so happy here, it felt like home already. 

Not that Alonzo was overly familiar with the idea of home in the first place. Before joining the Jellicles a year or so ago, he never had a specific place to call home. As a cat who was both a stray and not a member of any tribe or gang, he didn't have his own territory. 

Alonzo always liked being a stray. Humans were irrelevant to him. He didn't dislike them, heck human places were often great sources of food, but actually relying on humans and trusting them enough to consider them tribemates and live with them just wasn't appealing to him.

On the other hand, he had not liked being unclowdered. Unclowdered meant not being a member of a tribe like the Jellicles and that meant being alone, without any other cats to rely on to watch your back or help you when you got hurt. Very few cats wanted that. 

Of course, he had always been able to find some companionship with other cats he came across, but it was never long-term. 

Unfortunately, there wasn't all that much a cat could do if they wanted to join a tribe. Most were pretty territorial and reluctant to allow new members in and those that did typically had hierarchies with new cats relegated to the bottom and not treated very well. 

It was a stroke of luck that Alonzo happened to come across the Jellicles - a tribe that not only accepted new cats, but didn't enforce the same strict social structures as others did.

On a day like this, with how chilly it was outside, Alonzo couldn't believe how good his life had become. Curled up in a warm and safe den, next to the handsome cat he had fallen in love with was so different than the drafty, dirty places where he had sought shelter last winter. 

In addition to now being part of a tribe, Alonzo had been dating Munkustrap for the past few months and it was becoming pretty serious. There were several other cats who were aware of their relationship, but the whole tribe didn't know quite yet and the two of them were rarely openly affectionate in public. But Alonzo was happier now than he ever had been before and he wanted to make sure it lasted. Today, when the time was right, he was going to tell Munkustrap that he wanted to make their relationship more official and become bonded mates.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, Munkustrap woke up too. Unlike Alonzo, Munkustrap wanted to get right up and get to work. He only allowed himself the time to say good morning and quickly groom himself before he slipped past the curtain that gave his den privacy from the rest of the junkyard and headed out.

Alonzo pulled himself up. With Munkustrap gone, the den was still warm, but felt far less cozy. He took the time for a long stretch, then groomed himself thoroughly until his fur was sleek and shiny.

He left the den and went for a walk to find something to eat for breakfast. There was a nearby bakery that often left food outside for stray cats like him. Sometimes the food they offered was mediocre, but it was pretty good often enough for him to keep going there. Even when the food they put out was already gone, their garbage bins were easy enough to knock over.

When he got there, he went around to the back. He was disappointed to find that there was no food, but there was an employee taking a break. The people who worked at this particular bakery were more handsy than Alonzo liked and had tried to pet him at first. Fortunately, they were easy enough to train out of that bad habit and had become the only humans Alonzo semi-liked.

"Oh, hello Panda. Hold on a minute, I'll get you something," the human said. 

Alonzo wasn't positive what a panda was, but he figured it must be a very attractive, black and white animal. That made enough sense to him, although if he was being honest, he did not particularly care for the name that much. The man came outside with some fruit, cheese, and bread. Alonzo quite liked cheese, but he would have preferred some fish or a hard-boiled egg over fruit. 

Once he finished his meal, he strolled back to the junkyard. The fresh, crisp air was good for thinking. And he was thinking a lot. Mostly about how to ask Munkustrap to be his mate. 

He didn't want to plan it out too much though. Trying to complicate things would likely result in some sort of problem or misunderstanding occurring. Simply straight-up telling Munkustrap that he wanted to be mates with him would be the way to go. 

%%%

When Alonzo returned to the junkyard, he headed straight for the tire. That was always a good meeting place and a lot of cats liked to spend time there, especially when the ground was so cold on their paws. Predictably, Munkustrap was there. Unpredictably, he was speaking with Asparagus and Mungojerrie. 

Alonzo wasn't sure what that was about, but he'd rather not get involved, so he left and patrolled a bit. When he returned to the tire a while later, it was empty. 

That was okay. Alonzo wasn't in any particular rush to talk to Munkustrap. He wanted it to go well and was willing to wait until the time seemed right. He would just wander around in the meantime and eventually he'd come across Munkustrap.

%%%

It was around noon when Alonzo did see Munkustrap. The sun had finally made an appearance between the clouds and everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.

"Munkustrap," Alonzo purred. 

Munkustrap looked over at him and seemed relieved to see it was only him and not another cat bringing him problems to solve or needing attention. Not that Munkustrap didn't love helping the other cats and spending time with them, but he did need a break every now and then.

"Did you eat breakfast?" Alonzo asked. 

"No, I haven't had a chance," Munkustrap answered. 

"Come on, I already ate, but I could use a snack," Alonzo said.

Alonzo lead Munkustrap to his den to grab some food, then to his favorite spot in the junkyard, a small, isolated clearing that was rarely visited by the other cats. Alonzo liked being around the other cats, but he was still getting used to it and sometimes it got overwhelming. His own den was a good place to go too, of course, but it was nice to be able to lie in this clearing and look at the sky. 

They settled down in a sunbeam in the clearing and began to eat. 

"I'm glad the sun came out finally. Maybe that blizzard won't hit us after all," Munkustrap said.

Alonzo didn't know a blizzard was supposed to be coming and said as much.

"Yes, Tantomile and Coricopat think one might hit tonight or tomorrow. It's difficult to really predict the weather though, so they aren't always right," Munkustrap said.

"I hope they're wrong this time," Alonzo said. He'd been through blizzards before and while he made it through just fine, he didn't like it. Freezing his tail off while huddled beneath a house or in an abandoned building was never a fun experience. 

"Yeah, so do I," Munkustrap agreed.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while. The sun hit the few leftover melted puddles in just the right way to make them sparkle. Now was the moment.

Alonzo reached out to Munkustrap and curled up next to him. "Munkustrap, these past few months have been the best of my life. I don't want them to ever end."

Munkustrap smiled and leaned into him. "I'm really happy too." 

"Which is why I would like to ask you to officially become mates with me," Alonzo smiled and waited for a response.

He had thought a little about how Munkustrap would react. Maybe he would be ecstatically happy or, more likely, he would show a more subdued pleasure. He might say yes right away or he might kiss him first. Alonzo waited for the reaction.

It didn't come for a while. Munkustrap took almost 30 seconds before finally shaking his head and stuttering "I- Alonzo, I..."

Mortified, Alonzo quickly tried to backtrack. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to." 

"I just think... we just need to... we need to talk about our relationship and where it's going before making any decisions," Munkustrap said. 

"Oh," Alonzo was a bit speechless. He probably should have thought about this as a possibility, but he really hadn't expected this. 

He never should have told Munkustrap how he felt. They were doing fine, everything had been good, then he went and ruined it.

"I, uh, I'm just going to go now," Alonzo said as he stood up to leave.

"Wait, Alonzo. We really need to talk," Munkustrap said, reaching out to stop him, but Alonzo dodged away.

"No, it's okay. I understand," Alonzo said as he walked away. 

Once out of sight, he broke into a trot. He didn't want to go back to his den in case Munkustrap came looking for him there and he had just left Munkustrap in his favorite clearing. There really was nowhere else to retreat to, so he left the yard and headed for a nearby children's playground that he rarely frequented outside of patrols. 

Munkustrap was breaking up with him. 

Every since he got used to being part of a tribe, he never wanted to go back to being unclowdered. He never thought he would do it voluntarily. Now, for the first time, he was thinking about it. Even though it was in no way easier than life in a tribe, he didn't know if he could stay here. 

When he finally got to the playground, it was completely empty, which was good because it meant nobody would bother him. He settled down on a rubber children's swing and let the breeze rock him back and forth gently.

Could he bear seeing Munkustrap every day without being with him? Could he handle watching Munkustrap date and become bonded mates with someone else? It might be selfish of him, but he wasn't sure if he could. 

What would happen when word got out about this? What would the other cats think? 

It would be extremely embarrassing, but now that he was really thinking it through, it probably was not worth leaving the tribe over. Maybe if it got bad, he could just leave for a little while, until this whole situation blew over. Then he could come back and pretend nothing had never happened.

Alonzo must have been there thinking for a few hours before he decided to return to the junkyard. He had made up his mind. He would go back for the night; it was getting pretty cold out and snow had started lightly falling, he didn't want to be caught out if that storm hit. In the morning he would take his things and leave so he could be alone to work out what went wrong with him and Munkustrap. 

Once he put it behind him, he would come back. It would only be a temporary leave of absence. He hoped they would take him back, but he knew they had a thing about cats leaving and might not allow him to return. 

Even so, leaving was a risk he felt he had to take.

%%%

He was planning on going straight to his den when he got back and avoiding Munkustrap until he said goodbye tomorrow, but Munkustrap cornered him the second he entered the yard.

"Alonzo, thank Everlasting, there you are. I was getting worried. A blizzard is about to hit," Munkustrap said.

"Alright. What do you need me to do?" Alonzo asked. As long as he was still here, he would pull his weight and help out. "Should I go looking for extra blankets for everyone?" 

"We'll need to secure everyone's dens to keep the snow out, but it's going to get too cold for us to stay here. Everyone needs to get inside a human house until it's over," Munkustrap said.

"Not everyone has a human house, Munkustrap," Alonzo snapped. Frankly, he was annoyed with Munkustrap in general and this attitude that several of the cats in this tribe had where they forget that not everyone likes humans as much as them was always frustrating. 

"It's okay. This has happened before. Anyone who doesn't have a human house just goes home with someone who does," Munkustrap explained. "Tantomile and Coricopat have already left. They took Plato with them to spend the storm at the vicarage with Old Deuteronomy." 

"Okay. So, what do we do now?" 

"You get your own den as sealed up as possible. There's a bunch of scrap metal near the edge of the yard you can use. When you finish, can you seal Cassandra and Exotica's dens? Both of them said they were staying with their humans today," Munkustrap said. 

Alonzo didn't have much in his den. He was still fairly new to the tribe and hadn't had any possessions before then. So far, he only owned two things - one soft, thick blanket and a cushion that he thought once belonged on a couch. He would prefer if they both stayed dry, especially since he had no intention of going with another cat to their human's house. 

Before he became a member of this tribe, he did fine by himself. Snow and rain hadn't done him in yet. There may have been a few winters that were close calls, but usually he was fine. He would just curl up in the blanket on his cushion and get through it. 

He did appreciate the idea of keeping any snow or melted water out of his den though, so he dragged a few pieces of metal to the entrance to create a door of sorts. That would work.

Now to help the other cats. Cassandra's den was easy. Her den was a large cardboard box; it contained an old, doorless microwave that she used as a bed. She must have suspected that it would snow before she left yesterday, because all of her belongings were neatly stacked in Tupperware containers that were placed in the microwave. Even if snow or water got in, her stuff would stay dry. 

Alonzo just blocked the entrance with a large piece of metal, checked the tarp that covered the top and sides of her box to make sure it was secure, and he was done. 

By now, the snow was falling at a steady pace, but there was still plenty of time before it really picked up. 

Exotica's den was smaller and she had fewer belongings than Cassandra, but then again, she spent a lot less time in the junkyard. Alonzo felt bad about touching her things, but he didn't want to risk they would get wet and ruined. He placed her towel and the couple of cat toys she kept there - oh, she had a fake mouse full of catnip, that was fun, maybe he should have made an effort to become better friends with Exotica - in a plastic bucket, then pulled another tarp around the entirety of her den, including the front entrance to seal it off.

Once he finished, he looked around to see if anyone else needed assistance. Jellylorum was pulling a shower curtain across the entrance to her den. Alonzo helped her lock it in place with some bungee cords. 

"Thanks, Alonzo," Jellylorum said. "Do you have a place to go during the storm?"

"Yeah," Alonzo said. "I'll be fine. You'll be good?"

"Yes. Mr. Andrews, you know, the man who owns the theater. He always brings my family back to his apartment during blizzards and such. I do have to get back to the theater soon though to make sure he doesn't forget. You stay warm now." 

"You too," Alonzo said.

Jellylorum smiled at him before walking off, calling "Etcetera, it's time to go."

"Hey Alonzo, can you help us out here?" Alonzo heard. 

He headed over to where Tumblebrutus and Pouncival were closing the entrance to Jennyanydots' den with thick sheets of Styrofoam. Jennyanydots was trying to direct them, but Pouncival had his own ideas and kept moving the Styrofoam the wrong way. Once Alonzo helped him get back on track, they managed to get everything securely in place. 

"That should do it. How about your den?" Alonzo asked Tumblebrutus. 

Tumblebrutus pointed next door where his small den was located. It was essentially a training den and he would get a larger, more permanent one where he got a bit older. For now though, his den consisted of a wooden barrel that was empty of all his possessions. 

"I moved all my stuff back to my parents den. Electra did too. I don't care if my barrel gets wet, it'll dry easily enough," he said and Alonzo could see the assembly of an old bar stool, a pillow, and a tarp covering that usually made up Electra's den was packed up, leaving only the bar stool and the folded tarp behind. Presumably the rest of Electra's den and her possessions were also in the much larger den that Jennyanydots, Skimbleshanks, and Pouncival shared.

"Great. You all have a human home to go to?" Alonzo asked.

"Yes, they'll be coming home with me," Jennyanydots said. 

"I hope so," Pouncival said. "Mom's humans don't like us much," he explained to Alonzo. "They might kick us out."

"They won't kick you out," Jennyanydots sighed. "Just stay on your best behavior to be safe. Now, boys, help me carry this," she said, handing Tumblebrutus and Pouncival plastic grocery bags that appeared to contain things she didn't want to risk leaving behind.

Alonzo wandered around the junkyard, looking for other work to do and finding none when he saw Demeter, Jemima, and Bombalurina waiting by the tire in the center of the yard. He approached them and asked what their plan was. He knew they did not have their own humans. 

"The last time there was a bad storm, we went to Munkustrap's house, but this time, he wants us to go to Tugger's place," Demeter told him.

"Why can't you go to Munkustrap's?"

"He said he's bringing you and George to his humans this time and he doesn't think they'd appreciate so many cats showing up at once," Demeter answered. "We don't mind. As long as Tugger's humans let us stay." 

"Is that actually a concern? Are Tugger's humans likely to leave you outside?" Alonzo asked. He wasn't planning on going to Munkustrap's house anyway. Maybe that meant Demeter, Jemima, and Bombalurina could go instead in his place.

"Well, Tugger says that his adult human doesn't want any other pets and will probably complain," Demeter said, a bit nervously. 

"He also said as long as we introduce ourselves to his little human first, she'll want us to stay and her father has trouble saying no to her, so we should at least be able to take shelter there until the storm passes," Bombalurina said, placing a reassuring paw on Demeter's back. 

Jemima clapped her hands together. "I'm excited to met Tugger's little human. I've never seen a human kitten before. I bet she's so cute." 

At that moment, Munkustrap jumped up on the tire. "We're almost ready to go. Once Tugger gets back, we'll go to his place to make sure his humans will take you in," Munkustrap addressed Demeter, Bombalurina, and Jemima, before turning to Alonzo. "Then we'll go to my place."

Alonzo still had no intention of going to any human house and figured now was the time to say that, but before he could, Tugger arrived and reported to Munkustrap that Mistoffelees had placed a magical protection around the junkyard. It wouldn't prevent all damage from the storm, he wasn't able to do that, but it might be able to reduce damage somewhat. Tugger also let everyone know that Mistoffelees and Victoria had both gotten home safely and he had checked in on Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer to make sure they were at their house as well.

"Great. That's great. Everyone's accounted for. We're all set. Are you all ready to go?" Demeter and Bombalurina said they were good to go, Munkustrap called George over to them, and everyone was prepared to leave.

Everyone except Alonzo. "Munkustrap, I'm going to stay here. I'll keep an eye on things during the storm, make sure no dogs or other cats try to invade."

Munkustrap shook his head. "Alonzo, it's not safe. We'll handle any situations like that after the storm."

"I've survived storms worse than this before. I'll be fine," Alonzo reassured him.

"Alonzo, you'll freeze if you stay. We have to go now," Munkustrap insisted. 

"No, Munkustrap. I don't want to go to your human's house and I'm not going to."

"We don't have time for this now! It's already snowing and it's going to get worse soon. Let's just go." Munkustrap was clearly getting agitated, but Alonzo didn't care. He was agitated too; it had been a bad day and he wasn't going to go along with anything he didn't want to do, especially if it meant being trapped inside with humans and with the cat who just broke up with him.

"You go. Get to safety. I can handle it." With that, Alonzo seated himself on the tire, off the cold ground, and refused to move. 

The other cats chimed in.

"Come on Alonzo, be reasonable."

"It's going to be so cold." 

"Munkustrap's humans aren't bad, last time we were there, they mostly just fed us and left us alone."

But Alonzo's mind wasn't changed. "You all go. I'll see you after it's over."

The wind was beginning to pick up and cut right through their fur. Demeter, Jemima, and George had already been shivering before, but now everyone was.

"Straps, we need to go now," Tugger said. "Alonzo, you should go with Munkustrap, but if you're going to be a stupid and stay here, at least get into a den."

Alonzo nodded at him and watched as they left. He then walked around the yard quickly to check that everything was prepared for the storm. It was getting close to dusk by now and the temperature was noticeably dropping, so Alonzo went back to his den, pausing only to grab a blanket from the pile of extras they kept in the car, and pulled the metal he set up as a door shut. 

He wrapped himself up and settled down for the night. Hopefully the storm would be over tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

It was getting colder now and Alonzo couldn't stop shivering. He regretted not using a different, more insulating material to seal his den off. The metal door might keep the snow and wind out, but it certainly was doing nothing to block the cold. 

He should have grabbed two extra blankets from the car when he'd stopped by. Or even better, he should have taken that bundle of straw that was there yesterday. That would have helped keep him warm, but he hadn't seen it when he was in the car earlier and it was definitely too late to go out and search for it now.

He was annoyed at himself. He'd gotten soft over the past year. Before he joined this tribe, a storm like this would hardly phase him. Sure, he'd have to find shelter and spend the night being cold, but he'd been through snowstorms worse than this and he'd survived. The last blizzard that came, he didn't even have a single blanket.

It was too bad this was his last night here. Going back to his old life, even temporarily, would be difficult now that he experienced life in a tribe. 

Maybe he should just stay. No one would have to know that he had been planning on leaving. And the tribe could definitely use his protection. What would they do if another cat invaded the yard using the blizzard as a cover? Without him, there would be nobody to defend their territory.

He also didn't want to leave everyone behind. Even without Munkustrap agreeing to be his mate, there were other cats he had become close to. He didn't want to leave and, you know what, he wasn't going to. Maybe it would be difficult to deal with and maybe Munkustrap would expect him to leave, but that didn't mean he had to. 

Unless Munkustrap told him that he wasn't welcome in the tribe anymore.

Alonzo didn't even know why Munkustrap had broken up with him in the first place. Did he do something wrong that would get him kicked out? 

Or maybe it wasn't even his fault. Munkustrap was the de facto leader, maybe he needed to mate with someone of higher status than a common-borne unclowdered cat. 

Once that thought got into his head, it all fit into place. That was it. Munkustrap had just been having fun with him and had never intended to make it more serious. 

Alonzo felt like an idiot. Of course that was what happened. It took ages of flirting with Munkustrap before he started reciprocating. That was unusual for Alonzo, typically whenever he flirted with a cat, they were either immediately interested in him or, on occasion, immediately turned him down. 

And then, once they did finally start dating, Munkustrap had point-blank asked him if he was sure that he wanted this. Alonzo thought that was just Munkustrap being thorough and that he asked that of all his partners, but in retrospect, Munkustrap had probably been warning him that nothing lasting would come from this. 

Why had Alonzo expected anything different? This was exactly the type of thing Tugger did on a regular basis. It made sense that Munkustrap would behave like that too. He was just more subtle about it.

This tribe's social structure was better than other tribes he'd encountered, but that didn't mean it was nonexistent. The cats were mostly considered equals and nobody had treated Alonzo as lesser just because he was new and a stray and previously unclowdered. But still, how could he have thought Munkustrap would want to be with him? Munkustrap could probably have his choice of any cat he wanted as a mate and nobody would say no to him.

Something slammed against Alonzo's door and he startled. The wind must really be picking up now to be able to throw objects around. Hopefully it was just a small tree branch and nothing in the junkyard had broken.

There were more bangs against the door. 

Wait. That wasn't the wind. 

Was someone trying to get into his den? Was it another cat trying to invade? He knew it was a good idea to stay and protect the yard. Just wait until Munkustrap found out that he was right; someone had needed to stay behind to protect their dens. 

Alonzo braced himself for the cold and shoved the door back hard so it landed on the intruder. The wind hit him full force, but he didn't care. He was more than ready for a fight, especially with the mood he was in right now.

Alonzo stepped outside, making sure to keep a foot placed on the metal door to keep the intruder pinned. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Alonzo, it's me," Munkustrap's voice weekly came from under the metal.

"Munkustrap, what are you doing? You're supposed to be at your house." 

"I didn't want to leave you. I had to bring George to my humans, but I came back to convince you to come with me."

"I've been through worse. I can get through this by myself," Alonzo said, finally stepping off the door and moving back into his den.

"But you don't need to. Alonzo, you don't need to do it yourself. Why would you want to be out here when you can be warm? It's just going to get colder and colder the later it gets."

"I do need to rely on myself. I can't rely on anyone else anymore."

"What does that mean? You don't have to do it all by yourself. Please let me help you." Munkustrap pushed the metal off and pulled himself up.

"You want to help me" Alonzo scoffed. 

"Of course I want to help you," Munkustrap said, very confused. "I'd help anyone in the tribe, but especially you."

"Sure. Until you get bored, right?" Alonzo said. "Or is it just until you find someone better?"

"What are you talking about? Can we just go back to my house and get out of the snow?"

"No," Alonzo said. He shouldn't have shoved the entire door over like that. It would feel good to be able to slam it closed. 

"Can we at least go into your den?" Munkustrap asked.

Alonzo wanted to refuse, but the wind was too strong to stay out here. Munkustrap came into his den and they tried to prop the metal door back up to keep the wind out.

They sat down and awkwardly stared at each other for a minute. 

Finally, Munkustrap broke the silence. "I suppose we can have that conversation now, about our relationship. I figured we'd do it back at my house, but if you're not coming..."

"I already know what you're going to say, so you don't need to bother." Alonzo would give anything to be able to get up and walk away.

"Oh. So, are you okay with it?"

"I guess I have to be, right? What else can I do?" Alonzo asked.

"I don't want to force you to do anything. I don't want to make you leave," Munkustrap said.

"How did you know I was thinking about leaving?" Alonzo asked, semi-dejectedly. He hadn't told anyone he was going to leave the tribe. He still hadn't even made up his own mind about it yet.

"You were going to leave?" Munkustrap looked startled and very upset. He usually would never show this level of vulnerability, but Alonzo had seen it before when it was just the two of them. 

"With us not being together anymore, I thought I could use some space. Be alone for a while, but I guess I was convincing myself out of it. I don't want to leave everyone behind."

"Are we not together anymore?" Munkustrap asked, staring at the floor. He was clearly attempting to pull himself back together and hide his feelings. 

Alonzo tried to give Munkustrap an incredulous look, but Munkustrap wasn't looking at him. "Munkustrap, you're the one who broke up with me."

"No, I didn't. I don't want to break up with you." 

"When I asked you to be my bonded mate, you said we had to talk about our relationship. That means it's over."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. Just that we need to talk. It's complicated," Munkustrap said.

"What's so complicated? You either want to be mates or you don't."

"I do want to be mates with you. Alonzo, I do want that, but there are some logistics we need to consider." 

Alonzo's mind was racing. Munkustrap did want to be with him, there was just some obstacle keeping him from saying yes.

"What do you mean logistics?" he asked.

"Well, I'm basically the tribe's leader when my father is away and I will be the leader officially one day," Munkustrap paused to take a deep breath. "That comes with certain responsibilities."

Alonzo's anger disappeared and, without it keeping him focused, he felt ill. He had thought that Munkustrap didn't want to be with him because of his lack of social standing. Now he realized the actual problem. 

"Oh. I guess I didn't think about that. You'll need to provide an heir someday," Alonzo said. 

Munkustrap needed to mate with a queen. Munkustrap would have no control over that. It wasn't personal. Munkustrap wanted to be with him, but he couldn't turn his back on his duty to the tribe. It wasn't all a game to him where he played with Alonzo's emotions for fun.

Alonzo understood. He just wished he had understood weeks ago before he allowed himself to picture a future with Munkustrap.

"No, that will work itself out. I can appoint another cat as my heir, maybe a niece or nephew or it could be an unrelated cat. It's not very traditional, but that's fine," Munkustrap said.

"Then what's the problem?" Alonzo's frustration was back, but he still felt ill. None of this made sense. 

"Being my mate comes with responsibilities that others don't have. I need you to know that before you commit to it." 

"Is that it?! Munkustrap, I can learn how to behave properly. You'll just need to tell me what to do. I'll learn whatever I need to if it means I can be with you."

Alonzo went to lean into Munkustrap's side, but Munkustrap pulled away. "You need to think about it first. You don't even know what the responsibilities are yet, so how can you decide if you'll be alright with them? My mother always had problems with them. I think she must have liked the glamour and allure of being the leader's mate, but not the work involved."

"You rarely ever talk about her. I thought she left because she wanted to be famous," Alonzo had heard the stories about the beautiful Grizabella who cared only about herself, leaving her mate and young kittens behind without a second thought, even when other members of the tribe had begged her to come back.

"She did leave to become famous, but it was more than that. She should never have mated with my father. Any other cat as her mate and she would have been fine; she might have still left eventually, but not in the way that she did. She was just never able to fully put the tribe above her own desires. I don't think she ever really tried," Munkustrap paused to take another steadying breath. "My parents were constantly arguing about it before she left. I remember them yelling at each other."

Alonzo didn't know what to say to that. He had few memories of his own parents and none that could help him relate to this. "I'm sorry," seemed like a fairly safe thing to say.

"No, it doesn't matter, what's done is done. I just don't want that to happen to us. I've been so happy being with you, I don't want to ruin it and make you leave too," Munkustrap's voice started shaking slightly. "I almost chased you away today without even meaning to. I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's okay, but I do need you to know that I'm not in this for the glamour. I'll do whatever I need to for you and for the tribe. I don't mind extra work," Alonzo said.

"I know. You already do a lot for us with all the protector work and patrolling the yard, but I also don't want you forced into a role you don't want just so you can be with me."

"You need to let me decide that for myself and trust me when I say that I am willing to put in any amount effort needed to make this work. I've been in love with you for a while. I'm not going to let you convince me out of it. So, what do you say?"

"I say yes," Munkustrap nuzzled his head against Alonzo. 

They sat curled together for a few minutes before Munkustrap said "we should go back to my human house before it gets worse out."

"Munkustrap, I didn't want to be trapped inside with you when I thought you just broke up with me, but that wasn't the only reason I want to stay here."

"Right. You said you wanted to protect the yard from intruders, but I'd rather we have to fight intruders off later than freeze to death now."

"I don't think this storm is bad enough for us to actually freeze to death, but also, I'm maybe, kind of, a little afraid of humans," Alonzo admitted. "Don't tell anyone that."

"Oh. My humans, Annie and Max, are very gentle and I'll be there with you. I won't let them touch you if you don't want them to."

"I still don't know if I can do it. Being near humans is one thing, but being in their house where they can lock us in and never let us out again. That sounds horrible."

"Alright. I guess we can stay here until it's over." 

"Are you sure? You could go back if you wanted," Alonzo said.

"Not without you. My humans and George will be fine. They'll take care of each other. And if I'm here, we can share body heat." They curled up under the blankets. The temperature had dropped rapidly and both of them had been shivering for some time now. It was probably for the best that they hadn't tried to go back to Munkustrap's house. 

"I'm sorry," Alonzo said. "It's really cold. I should have just gotten over myself and gone with you to your humans' house in the first place."

"It's not your fault," Munkustrap said. "Maybe next time there's a storm, you can stay in my garage. It gets some heat from the house and if we plan everything out right, we could sneak you in so Annie and Max don't even know you're there."

%%%

Alonzo woke up the next morning curled next to Munkustrap. It took him a minute to realize they were in his den instead of Munkustrap's and to remember what had happened yesterday. As was his habit, he lay still and watched Munkustrap until he woke.

Once Munkustrap was awake, they opened the door. The storm was over and everything was covered in a thick layer of snow. 

It was still very cold, but the sun was peeking through the clouds. Alonzo decided to go with Munkustrap to his human house after all. Not to meet his humans, definitely not that, but he liked this garage idea and wanted to see it for himself. 

They carefully navigated their way through the snow, avoiding patches of ice and slush, until they got to Munkustrap's house a few blocks away. An older man and woman, bundled up against the cold, were outside looking under parked cars and in bushes, calling out "Lionel, Lionel, where are you?" The woman was crying.

"Those are my humans. They must be looking for me," Munkustrap explained. "Do you want to stay here for now? I'll go inside and find a way to sneak you into the garage." 

Before Alonzo could answer, the man cried out "He's there! Annie, he's over there." The man and woman ran over as quickly as they were able and scooped Munkustrap into their arms. "Lionel, you're okay."

"Oh, and he brought another friend," the woman said. "Hello, kitty." She reached down and held a hand out to Alonzo to let him sniff her. 

Alonzo quickly backed up, hissing, and Munkustrap jumped down from the man's arms to insert himself protectively in front of Alonzo, rubbing his head against the woman's hand himself to keep her from getting any closer. 

"That's okay, kitty," the woman softly said to Alonzo, standing back up with Munkustrap in her arms and turning slightly away to speak with her husband. "Let's put some food in the garage for him. I don't want to leave him out in this cold if we can help it."

Her husband agreed and went to open the garage door partway to allow Alonzo to enter. Munkustrap jumped back down to join Alonzo on the ground. "I'm sorry they saw you. I didn't realize they'd be outside. Do you still want to see the garage?"

"Yes," Alonzo said. "It's pretty convenient that they're opening it up for us. You don't think they're going to wait until we go in and then close it, do you?"

"I don't think they'd do that, but there's a broken window at the top of the garage door that they still haven't fixed," Munkustrap shrugged. "We can get out through there if we needed to."

"Okay, will you come with me?" 

Munkustrap nodded and they walked into the garage side-by-side. The shared wall with the house allowed some heat to seep in, making the garage only chilly instead of actually cold.

"What do you think?" Munkustrap asked. "At least there's no snow."

A door leading from the garage into the house opened and the man and woman entered just enough to put down two bowls with food and water and a couple of towels. 

"It's fine," Alonzo said, looking around. "Next time there's a storm, I think I'll be okay with this, as long as they keep their distance and don't fix that window."

George came running out of the house as well and ran over to them. "You're both alive!"

%%%

Fortunately, the weather began to warm up by mid-afternoon. It was back to pleasant winter weather that their fur could protect them from. Munkustrap and George had said goodbye to Munkustrap's humans, Alonzo had stayed far away, but even he had to admit that they did seem as polite and helpful as humans could be. He could see why Munkustrap liked them. 

George was sad to leave them. He had spent a good portion of his childhood with humans, rather than with cats, so being back in a human house must have brought up a number of memories for him. Munkustrap reassured him that he was welcome to visit Annie and Max anytime and that they both liked him a lot. 

When George wasn't listening, Munkustrap also told Alonzo that Annie and Max's son and grandchildren had recently moved into a home nearby and once they settled in, they wanted to get a cat. Annie had texted her son a number of pictures of the stray kitten who showed up at her house last night and if George decided that he wanted a human home, Munkustrap was confident he could make that happen.

The three cats were going to go back to the junkyard when they ran into Tugger, Demeter, Bombalurina, and Jemima. The queens were all sporting new collars that looked remarkably like Tugger's. Either Tugger's little human was very convincing or her father was a complete push-over.

When they returned to the junkyard, they began to clear up the minimal damage caused by wind. Munkustrap and the others started in the center of the yard, but Alonzo headed towards the perimeter to check that the fence and pipes were not damaged. He reached an out of the way area where yesterday, for some unknown reason, Munkustrap had dragged a wooden crate and several blankets. The crate was placed on the other side of the fence, still in their territorial range, but outside their home base of the junkyard.

Alonzo looked in the crate to find that the blankets were no longer neatly folded and the straw bundle he had previously seen in the car was here, with an indentation in the middle showing that another cat had used this as a shelter. They must have left hours ago, but there were several long, grey hairs present. He sniffed. From the scent, it was likely an older female. 

Before he could investigate further, Munkustrap came over. 

"Who was this for?" Alonzo asked.

"My mother," Munkustrap said, smiling sadly. "I put it out for her during storms. She may not be part of our tribe anymore, but that doesn't mean I want her to freeze."

Munkustrap reached for the crate to bring it back into the junkyard. Alonzo grabbed the other side and together, they maneuvered it over the fence.

"Come on," Alonzo said. "Let's go make sure everyone else is alright."


End file.
